Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Trailer (with analysis)

Okay, so hot on the heels of the Star Wars trailer, we get the first official trailer for one of next year’s big tentpoles, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. In case you missed it, here’s the trailer:

Okay, so there isn’t much to this one. It’s more a teaser than anything. But let’s see what we can see.

Anyone else wondering why all those folks are wearing skull facepaint? Is Superman crashing a Day of the Dead party?

Okay, this has me really curious. The whole “Soldiers kneeling to Superman” thing has a distinctive Red Son vibe to it, as do other parts of the trailer (such as the various voice overs). And that’s definitely a story that I think would be fun to see played out on the big screen. But given how ambitious this film already is, I would hope that they don’t overreach.

… interesting. Let’s be honest, the past two Superman movies have dabbled very heavily in Christological imagery. So it’s interesting to see this charge brought against Superman.

It’s also an interesting hint as to what the central conflict in this movie is going to be. From what it sounds like, Superman has rubbed some people the wrong way (Lex Luthor, perhaps?) and now those people see Supes as more of a threat than a savior. That could easily explain why Batman gets involved, especially if he’s of the same opinion.

Speaking of the bat…

Even more interesting. Batman is clearly coming ready for a fight, what with the extra armor. A lot of people have commented on the obvious influence that The Dark Knight Returns has apparently had on this movie. And the whole “Do you bleed?” business certainly hints at the top two DC heroes are going to throw down at some point.

And here we go… if the whole thing didn’t fade to black.

While there’s a lot to like in this preview, I’m still a little…hesitant. As interesting as Man of Steel was, it left a sour aftertaste in my mouth. I did not like how things ended between Superman and Zod. And ever since the debacle with Ryan Reynolds’s Green Lantern, DC movies seem to forget that superhero movies can be fun. Everything is so dark.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to see this. I want to see Wonder Woman and Aquaman and see what all happens in this. But I’m not quite as enthusiastic about this one as I am about the adventure we looked at a few days ago.